girls' name ★ peaked 1970

Raquel

Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #1,123 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

Borrowed from Spanish Raquel, from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḥēl).

Rank 2025
#1,123
among girls · ↓49 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
209
named Raquel · -10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,690
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1970
1,478 babies
All-time total
50,978
#581 all-time among girls
First recorded
1900
in Social Security records

Raquel popularity over time

50,978 babies have been named Raquel since 1900, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s 23 – 23 2 – #1,661
1910s 122 5 127 13 +452% #1,856
1920s 497 – 497 50 +291% #689
1930s 815 5 820 82 +65% #612
1940s 857 5 862 86 +5% #760
1950s 1,569 – 1,569 157 +82% #684
1960s 4,214 13 4,227 423 +169% #245
1970s 9,592 63 9,655 966 +128% #215
1980s 9,787 92 9,879 988 +2% #228
1990s 10,957 93 11,050 1,105 +12% #221
2000s 6,872 5 6,877 688 -38% #342
2010s 3,822 – 3,822 382 -44% #606
2020s (to 2025) 1,570 – 1,570 262 -32% #906

Where Raquel is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 203 0.13 outside top 500
2027 198 0.12 outside top 500
2028 193 0.12 outside top 500
2029 190 0.12 outside top 500
2030 187 0.12 outside top 500

Where Raquel is most popular

Girls named Raquel per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.159 per 1,000. Strongest in Maryland, Arizona, and New Jersey.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Raquel born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Maryland 39 0.368 +131%
Arizona 48 0.342 +115%
New Jersey 51 0.283 +77%
New York 103 0.260 +63%
California 207 0.246 +55%
Texas 194 0.241 +51%
Virginia 36 0.211 +33%
Tennessee 33 0.208 +31%
Washington 30 0.208 +30%
New Mexico 5 0.206 +29%
Florida 85 0.199 +25%
North Carolina 41 0.180 +13%
Connecticut 10 0.172 +8%
Georgia 39 0.172 +8%
Alabama 11 0.117 -26%
Colorado 12 0.108 -33%
Illinois 18 0.079 -51%
South Carolina 7 0.078 -51%
Michigan 14 0.077 -52%
Oregon 5 0.077 -52%
Missouri 9 0.075 -53%
Ohio 17 0.072 -55%
Massachusetts 8 0.066 -58%
Kentucky 5 0.058 -63%
Louisiana 5 0.057 -64%
Pennsylvania 7 0.030 -81%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Raquel

Raquel is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,123 in 2025 with 209 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1900, 50,978 American babies have been named Raquel. Its peak came in 1970, when 1,478 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1970s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Raquel stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Raquel?

The median living Raquel is about 36 years old; half are between 25 and 50. An estimated 48 thousand people named Raquel are alive in the United States today.

median 36 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Raquel year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 209 #1,123 – –
2024 232 #1,074 – –
2023 295 #906 – –
2022 261 #1,006 – –
2021 296 #909 – –
2020 277 #932 – –
2019 309 #868 – –
2018 288 #931 – –
2017 308 #885 – –
2016 336 #846 – –
2015 377 #751 – –
2014 404 #698 – –
2013 409 #692 – –
2012 456 #627 – –
2011 449 #634 – –
2010 486 #606 – –
2009 465 #640 – –
2008 538 #573 – –
2007 651 #498 – –
2006 604 #506 – –
2005 648 #475 – –
2004 688 #444 5 #12,791
2003 770 #396 – –
2002 756 #389 – –
2001 852 #351 – –
2000 900 #342 – –
1995 1,074 #257 9 #6,298
1990 1,189 #239 16 #3,737
1985 1,082 #239 14 #3,348
1980 835 #301 6 #6,062
1975 920 #262 5 #6,114
1970 1,470 #215 8 #3,755
1965 246 #623 – –
1960 195 #726 – –
1955 160 #749 – –
1950 110 #840 – –
1945 67 #937 – –
1940 85 #760 – –
1935 73 #796 – –
1930 120 #633 5 #4,439
1925 34 #1,404 – –
1920 20 #2,001 – –
1915 18 #1,872 – –
1910 8 #1,904 – –
1905 7 #1,661 – –
1900 6 #1,887 – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Raquel

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Raquel Welch Raquel Welch American actress and model (1940–2023) Contemporary
  2. 2 Raquel Cassidy English actress b. 1968 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Raquel del Rosario Raquel del Rosario Spanish singer (born 1982) Contemporary
  4. 4 Raquel Castro Raquel Castro American actress and singer (born 1994) Contemporary
  5. 5 Raquel Zimmermann Raquel Zimmermann Brazilian supermodel (born 1983) Contemporary
  6. 6 Raquel Rastenni Raquel Rastenni Danish-Russian singer (1915–1998) Contemporary
  7. 7 Raquel Atawo Raquel Atawo American tennis player b. 1982 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Raquel, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Raquel?

The median living Raquel is about 36 years old. Half of all living Raquels are between 25 and 50 years old.

How many people named Raquel are alive today?

An estimated 48 thousand people named Raquel are alive in the United States, based on 50,978 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Raquel mean?

Borrowed from Spanish Raquel, from Biblical Hebrew רָחֵל (rāḥēl).

How popular is the name Raquel in 2025?

Raquel ranked #1,123 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 209 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Raquel?

50,978 babies have been named Raquel in the United States since 1900, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Raquel most popular?

Raquel peaked in 1970, when 1,478 newborns received the name.

Is Raquel a boy or girl name?

Raquel is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Raquel rising or falling?

Raquel is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Raquel become more popular?

Raquel is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 187 girls named Raquel in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Raquel?

Well-known people named Raquel include Raquel Welch (actor), Raquel Cassidy (actor), Raquel del Rosario (singer).

Names like Raquel

Names that sound and feel close to Raquel: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Raquel with similar names → More names starting with R →